West Indies wicketkeeper/batsman, Shai Hope has gained some invaluable time at the wicket during the first day of the Cricket West Indies Best versus Best four-day match. Something he is happy to get having come off a long downtime from the format.
Hope played the role as an opener in Blackwood’s XI where he made an 88-ball 79, laced with 13 fours and one six. The right-handed batsman added 62 for the opening partnership alongside regular Test opener, John Campbell as well as 42 for the second wicket with Darren Bravo. After the close of play, Hope said he was “very eager” to get back into the Test set up, having last represented the Caribbean in the format back in July 2020.
“It’s just nice to get back out there and have a decent enough hit, haven’t been playing the amount of cricket that we would have liked in the last couple months to probably a year, so it’s nice to get back out there and do what you love, again it’s a different format, a different type of cricket we’re playing so it’s nice to get some time under my belt, time in the middle and hopefully I could improve my game as I go along,” Hope highlighted.
Hope’s 50-over average sits at 53.74 but in the longer version, it dips to 26.27 from 34 matches.
According to the 27-year-old, “It’s very important, as a batsman, as a cricketer you always want to perform whenever you get the opportunity to play and in this instance I am trying to be as consistent as I can be especially because it’s the best red ball players in the Caribbean and I just want to prove my point if there is a point to be proven.”
While his limited overs form has been one of the best in the region, Hope believes it is the same application he will use in the longer format in order to succeed.
“I think it’s still a challenge, everything still applies, still have to play the ball on merit depends on how the surface is playing and the bowlers are bowling,” he said.
